Mobile applications (“app”) are computer programs designed to run on mobile communication devices (e.g., smartphones, tablet computers, personal devices, etc.). A mobile app not preinstalled on the mobile communication device (or herein “mobile device”) is typically available from an application distribution platform accessible over, for example, the Internet. The application distribution platform is often operated by the owner of the mobile device's operating system (e.g., Apple's App Store, Google's Play Store, Window's Phone Store, etc.).
In enterprise environments, the mobile app can be made available to enterprise mobile devices through an enterprise server connected to the enterprise environment. In an enterprise server deployment, a user has downloaded the mobile app from the application distribution platform, but communication with the mobile app is by an enterprise server for private deployment of upgrades, updates, messages, etc.
Mobile apps can require updates to address software bugs (to make sure the app is working as designed), and provide upgrade(s) to the program itself (to enhance and/ or expand operations). In other instances, the mobile app developer might need to provide critical messages to end-users of their mobile app. For mobile apps independent users of mobile apps downloaded from the operating system owner's app distribution platform, mobile app developers can push updates to end-user mobile devices.
For mobile apps obtained in an enterprise server deployment scenario, the mobile app developer has no way to push any data (i.e., updates, upgrades, critical messages) to all users of the mobile app. It is difficult should an app developer want to communicate to all enterprise users in real time. For instance, the app developer would not have e-mail address of all end-users who downloaded the mobile app.
By way of example, consider that a mobile app developer found a serious flaw in an uploaded mobile app version. The mobile app developer would not want any existing users to update to this new version. Conventionally, the app developer contacts users by known e-mail addresses (which might not reach the full user community); the app developer can arrange a conference call at a predetermined time and date (which also might not reach the full user community); and/or the app developer can publish release notes disseminated throughout the enterprise notifying users of the issue (which again might not reach the full user community). These modes of communication each, and collectively, have the possibility of not reaching all users of the mobile app. Additionally, there is a delay between the availability of the problematic app version release and the receipt of the communication to not access this problematic app version.